A blog about writing, publishing, self-publishing and bookish doings by Roz Morris
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I was talking to some very interesting English literature professors this weekend and discovered an area where academics and authors are on completely different pages. It’s this: where authors get their characters. Many moons ago I studied English literature at university. I remember it as a vast journey that started with Icelandic sagas and Beowulf… Continue reading Where do you get ideas for…
A post this morning by sci-fi and fantasy author Hugh Howey made me pause and think. We’re entering an era when there will be a lot of books written by machines, and all the witch-hunts in the world won’t stop it. Where does that leave actual writers, who do it with hands and grey matter?… Continue reading How we will survive alongside machine-written books
I’ve had this interesting question from Tom Austin. Could you please tell me the difference between a scene and a chapter, and define what they are? How long should a chapter be? To some of us, these differences are clear and elementary. We just know what scenes and chapters are. For others this is puzzling… Continue reading What’s a scene? What’s a chapter? How do we use them to keep the reader…
In a novel we are able to invent. And even if we’re drawing on real life, some invention is usually essential because real life will rarely do just as it is (here’s a post I wrote about that). But when I decided to write a memoir (Not Quite Lost) and then another memoir (Turn Right… Continue reading When truth must out: what memoir taught me about story when I couldn’t invent anything
Let’s talk about one of the emotions of the creative life: envy. I don’t mean malice. The kind that wants someone else to fail. I mean the sharp twinge we feel when another writer, director, artist, musician or creator has made something wonderful and a part of us thinks: I wish I’d done that. Where… Continue reading The envy that sends writers back to work
Alice Wright’s usual writing was entertainment columns until one day her imagination took an unexpected swerve. A beautiful day, a spooky song in the headphones, and she found she needed to write a paranormal novel with a dual timeline. I’ve worked with many journalists who transitioned to novels and it’s quite a different way of… Continue reading Let the messages emerge from characters and story…
If you’re working on a novel or memoir, you might see this feedback at some point: it’s not quite working yet. It’s a bit lifeless. What might be wrong? Although we all have different strengths and blind spots, I find certain issues come up fairly regularly. Here they are – and practical ways to fix… Continue reading From lifeless to compelling: 5 craft fixes that transform a story
A developmental editor is usually the first professional to see your book. Ideally they’ll help you nurture its strengths, tone up its weaknesses, get you writing your best work. But finding that person can be a minefield. This week I was one of the resident experts at the Alliance of Independent Authors Indie Author… Continue reading Lessons from hiring the wrong editor – and how to find the…
Fifteen years ago I guested on a podcast called The Creative Penn hosted by Joanna Penn. We were both setting sail as indie authors. Fifteen years on, we’re both still at it. In this podcast we’re looking at why! There’s been a lot of change, but indie authorship still suits us both. It doesn’t matter… Continue reading Long-haul writing careers, writing memoir and slow-but-steady marketing.…
What are the key differences between writing memoir and writing fiction? That’s one of the questions I’m tackling today at Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing, the podcast from horror/ speculative fiction author and longtime publishing guru Mark Leslie Lefebvre. I’m thrilled to be invited to Mark’s show because he’s one of the old-timers in… Continue reading Big stories from small beginnings…
